“We are all driven to belong. To be part of the tribe, but not everybody fits in the same way. We want a life rich with purpose and meaning. That too is in our DNA, but that meaning can’t be prescribed. It must be sought, and found, and sometimes wrestled with, and fought for.”
– Aaron Millar
I often marvel and at times despair at how quickly I reach the end of the month without having written a word towards my monthly blog post. Although I know that time is fleeting, it is when I have to stop all my other tasks and prioritise writing that I am reminded of it, time and time again. Sometimes I consider it a good thing, while other times it weighs heavy on my heart when I think of everything I need to get done, not knowing how I will. It is then that I feel like a deer in the headlights of a car, hesitating which direction to choose in order to escape the cascade of contradictory emotions.
September had its lighter moments, but as I stand on the threshold of October, I know that I will have to take a deep breath before I dive into the challenges of the new month.
I’ve done some much needed autumn strimming, cutting off branches from the willow tree while the seasonal stream is still dry, as well as pruning a big section of lavender and rock roses with my hedge trimmer. A chore I neglected last year when we were busy with the retaining wall, and one Michael thinks I am mad doing, but I’ve seen the results when I did it two years ago, and inspired by the image of a purple haze when spring rolls around again, I followed my heart, and put in the work anyway. Despite the fact that September was filled with general chores, I managed to find time to spend on research and writing, as well as my Portuguese language studies, which I enjoyed.
Gardening joys of the month involved eating a bunch of grapes every day, competing with the little birds who love darting onto the porch for their share. There have also been figs from a nearby fig tree, and ones gifted, as well as the tail end of our passion fruit bounty. That meant that there were a lot of baking happening, as I was happily trying out new recipes. There are still tomatoes and peppers, and I have chillies and paprika happily drying outside, while I also hastily picked and brined some olives on this last day of the month, as they are busy ripening earlier than usual.
Michael arrived for a short visit during the last week of the month, and priorities shifted to sorting out the drainage for the workshop. Luckily for us, the rains didn’t come the way they did last year in September, although while he was here it did rain 11 mm, ensuring that for two days everyone had to work in the drizzle. Except for me, who was luckily ensconced in the house, making sure everyone was well fed.
As so often happens, the work was fiddly, and we didn’t quite achieve as much as Michael wanted to. Also, because the cladders haven’t been back to do the finishing work on the building, we could only install a temporary solution for the runoff water. Amidst the various frustrations involved in trying to get the building completed, the window guys at least arrived and finished their work while Michael was here, which was a bonus. The views from them are fantastic, and got both of us excited and looking forward to the day we will be able to work in our lovely new space.
Other work involved removing extra soil where our compost bins will be located, and digging the foundation trench for Lawrence to be able to continue work on our small retaining wall to not only protect our lovely dry-stone wall, but also giving us a terrace we can finally landscape into something more permanent.
All the soil was moved to start levelling out the terrace where my original vegetable garden used to be.
Notes:
# Wildfires is a yearly occurrence in Portugal. Some years are better than others. This year was one of the worse years again with loss of life, and even though we weren’t at all affected, one is always aware that it could just as easily happen in our area, even though we are not surrounded by plantations. An interesting article about this year’s fires can be read HERE if you are interested, while THIS ARTICLE focuses on the 2017 wildfires.
# Foreigners now officially make up 10% of Portugal’s population
Special Moments of Joy:
There were a couple of joyful moments that stood out for me. One involved watching the moon rise and set on a couple of evenings and mornings around the full moon, while other moments involved a little corça or roe deer, which appears to be living in our immediate area. The first time I spotted it was on a Sunday while chilling on the porch around midday. Luckily I had my camera with me, and I managed a couple of zoomed in shots when she came to drink from the sharka (seasonal pond) that still has a bit of water in it. The second time I spotted her it was with a juvenile grazing near our septic tank, and a third time I could share the experience with Michael, when I spotted her grazing on our ‘forested’ bit of land, while last night on our walk we scared her and watched her dash off away from us onto the neighbour’s land.
The fox is still around too, and while Midnight, Lily and I were chilling on a little bench I built in our ‘forested’ area early one evening, we gave it a big fright when it came strolling along the fence unexpectedly happening upon us, while on a separate occasion it paid us little heed when we were out for a stroll.
A Portuguese Expression:
Estou feito ao bife – it literally translates to I´m done like a steak, and means that you are in trouble, pretty much the way we would say in English that ‘you are dead meat’
Written by: Jolandi
It sounds like an overall good September, and important progress was made. I’m not surprised by the foreigner statistic as I know a handful of people who reside in Portugal, which I find remarkable considering. Everyone has definitely piqued my curiosity!
And once again, so glad you all were spared from the wildfires. Love your photos and updates, Jolandi. xo
I often marvel at the amount of foreigners living here too, Lani, especially because of the various challenges, but for most this is better than their home countries, which makes sense, especially when coming from countries where Portuguese is spoken. That is a brutally difficult language to learn. I’ve lowered my aspirations and now only hope to master the fluency of perhaps a three year old. 😂
Yip, every summer one is very much aware of the possibility of wildfires. The rains are late this year, so hopefully no other fires will erupt the way they recently did. – Jolandi
Lovely update. ‘Done like a steak’ made me laugh. A friend is flying to Portugal on Tuesday.
I adore that saying too, Peggy. It always makes me giggle. I hope your friend will have a lovely time in Portugal. Tourist numbers here are the highest they’ve ever been. Also clever to avoid the summer months, and the heaving masses. Lisbon is starting to become horrible to be in during the summer months for instance. – Jolandi
The workshop building is looking fantastic! And I loved seeing the roe deer, the vegetation, and of course Midnight and Lily. I’m glad Michael could come for a brief visit and that your month was kind enough to you that you can now face the work ahead in October. Happy autumn to you!
Thanks, Lexie. We love the building. I just wish they will come finish it, as I hate half jobs. Wishing you a happy fall in return. – Jolandi
Before I go too far away from the topic, I want to say that I love your photos of the farm and the wildlife, and the cats! Always the cats! I’m glad they’re able to enjoy the freedom and quiet of the countryside. It must be pleasant for their humans as well!
I realize a lot of work went into your harvest, but I am jealous of your being able to eat fresh grapes and other fruits picked straight from your vines. I bought a bunch of green grapes here at my local market, and not only were they expensive but they hardly had any flavor. We had a severe heat wave that I think affected the crops, particularly the ones that were picked at the height of summer. Someone observed that there was a shortage of fresh figs and peaches this year in California, probably due to the heat. Given that we’re seeing more long, hot summers (it was 100 degrees F today where I live, in early October!) I fear we will see more bad harvests.
The cats are such an integral part of my life and the quinta that I just cannot exclude them from my posts, so I am happy to hear that you love the photos of them and the farm. I was really lucky to get some photos of the roe deer, as I have to make a concerted effort to take photos these days. I find it interesting how many I took when we just bought the land and how little I now take.
I hate it when I buy any produce and then being disappointed that it has no flavour. It so often happens with fruit. It certainly is a blessing to have one’s own. I can’t wait for our fruit trees to get big enough to start producing fruit. We are also lucky that we live about 40 minutes away from where cherries are grown. The closest one is to where one’s food comes from, and of course buying from local farmers really is the only way to find produce rich in flavour. And like you say, the weather can play a huge role in the quality and price too. My goodness that is extremely hot for October. I hope cooler weather will soon arrive for you. – Jolandi
Your tranquil photos of the cats and other wildlife belie the busyness of your September. It is good that you push yourself to set aside some time to document your progress. You can look back when you are old and grey and say, ‘Did I (we) really do all that?’
Or. Perhaps all this work will be the reason you will be old and grey! (Joke).
And I’m drooling at the thought of fresh, tasty produce. Particularly the figs. And were the passionfruit sweet? Sometimes the expectation falls a little short if they are tart.
Thinking of you now, sitting on your little home-made seat in the forest, being all quiet and observant, listening to the birds settle for the night. (And you might be saying – ‘In your dreams, Gwen!’
Well, unless it is raining, you will most probably find me pausing on one of the three benches scattered troughout the property, Gwen. Sometimes I even take a glass of wine or cup of tea to enjoy on the bench. I love my little ritual walks with the cats, and on days when I don’t feel like it or the weather is ghastly, even just a quick walk does wonders for my soul. Some rituals are definitely worth cultivating, and this one is one of the joys of my life on the quinta.
You are most probably right in that the work will be the reason for making me old and grey, but I guess the other side of the coin is that it is great for my physical health otherwise, so as long as I don’t look in a mirror I may not even realise that I am old and grey.
The passion fruit was both sweet and tart, and as I collected and freezed the pulp to use in baking, it resulted in a great mix of the two flavours in the end. – Jolandi
I agree with the comment above about the land. That is what struck me the most in this post, despite the marvelous progress of your workshop! Windows are exciting, and this is my first view of completed walls, and I can only imagine how many possibilities this opens up for you both for working year ’round with space and climate control. Still, my heart leapt at the quinta photos, especially, as your warrior friend Hangaku Gozen said “always the cats!” I find so much pleasure in the look of all your stone walls, and thus I’m glad that you and Michael wanted to save them when you can. You are now part of the 10%, and it’s pretty neat that you insist on keeping this land a specifically Portuguese land. <3
What a lovely comment, Crystal. The stone walls are part of the reason we fell in love with this specific property, which is why we are also cladding the walls we build in stone to blend in with the landscape and original walls. I can’t wait for the workshop to be completed, and for us to start enjoying the space by embarking on various projects we are busy dreaming up. – Jolandi
It is a bit wild how it seems the things I need to get done keep piling up, and when I sit down to reflect on it all, there is a little angst in trying to find time to ‘relax’ versus the urge I feel to pick a chore to do and do it to get it done. A contradiction is that there is a challenge to be active and complete what needs to be completed versus the need to assess the ‘big picture’, and to do so means pushing aside activities. 😊 The feeling is almost the opposite of win-win scenarios, which I think we all enjoy and thrive in.
Reading your words relaxes me and helps me understand the value of enjoying what we create. Without the downtime to enjoy what you’ve made, life becomes nothing more than an endless list of chores to check off. However, when we sit back and look at what has been accomplished, it is the reward… seeing the changes and ideas moving forward and creating something special, even if at a longer (or more complicated) timeline. Another inspirational post and inspirational writing, Jolandi. The photos you share are part of the unique world you and Michael have created.
I can completely relate to the feeling of angst you describe, Randall. I guess we all get so caught up in that endless list of chores that it takes a bit of conscious effort to step back and enjoy what we have already accomplished. Thank goodness for me on the quinta it is a very visual reward, while so often the things we accomplish otherwise are not so visible, which is much harder to appreciate at times. I often have to remind myself how far we’ve come, as, like yousay, the timeline has already been much longer and more complicated than I could ever have imagined. I hope you can manage to make time to enjoy the changing of the seasons. – Jolandi
I often think even in my little apartment there’s always something that needs fixing, no matter how well I think I have taken care of everything. But that’s life. The things you have to do at your quinta keep you active, which is probably good for your body in the long run. And how lovely it must be to spot the corça! I imagine Midnight and Lily were just as amused as you were when they saw the deer.
I have spotted the corça a couple more times this month, and sincerely hope that it survives hunting season here, Bama. It really is special to know that there is wild animals who still survive and live among all the human activity. – Jolandi